


5 Times Coulson Saw The Hula Girl

by zauberer_sirin



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Angst, Developing Relationship, Episode Related, Established Relationship, F/M, Future Fic, Introspection, POV Phil Coulson, Skoulson RomFest 2k15 REDUX, skoulsonfest2k15redux
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-25
Updated: 2015-07-25
Packaged: 2018-04-11 04:49:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,316
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4421993
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zauberer_sirin/pseuds/zauberer_sirin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Coulson has always been intrigued by the Hula Girl.</p>
<p>Written for the Skoulson RomFest 2k15 Redux - Prompt: Hula Girl</p>
            </blockquote>





	5 Times Coulson Saw The Hula Girl

**[one]**

He had a hunch when he said to take the van, too.

He's not surprised when the tech people tell him they couldn't crack the encryption on the girl's laptop. It doesn't even look like a good laptop.

While she talks to Ward while he's "under the influence" (the girl is not naive but SHIELD can still get away with a couple of things) Coulson decides to take a better look at the van. He likes having the advantage, if he can build a decent profile. He's not an expert on computers but maybe if he gets inside the girl's head.

Her obsession with strange happenings and the unexplainable he already knew from her Rising Tide podcasts. That's not new information. It had unsettled Coulson when Ward dismissed her as a groupie – maybe the specialist was trying his own approach. The wrong one. But it's not as simple as that.

Her van is pretty crowded, messy. Not dirty but in disarray. She has her own system of organizing things. That's not surprising. Brilliant minds (and Coulson already knew she was brilliant from listening her rant against secrets and lies and injustice) often work like that. The newpaper clipping – she's not entirely digital. How old is she? They couldn't find her in the system and he's not sure. Very young. But she has a lot of experience. In what Coulson is not sure. He taps his fingers against his hips and touches the paper cuttings on the walls, thinking he's not getting the full picture. The news she chose, the slight slant to items featuring children, families. There's something there. Maybe she lost her family. Coulson is pretty sure she's alone in the world. Something about the way she carries herself, like she's used to being careful around people, like she can't trust them fully. Something about her seemingly fierce loyalty to the Hooded Hero doesn't make sense.

A camping stove. Colorful but mismatched plates and mugs. Few clothes but good fabric, good design. Not cheap. That's a pattern, he thinks, feeling a shiver of excitement as he pintpoints it. The girl doesn't have many possessions but they are not cheap, she has wanted to make them count. What does that mean? She has a lot of haircare products, good ones (he noticed her hair already but didn't know she took care of it personally) and Coulson thinks that feeds the same narrative.

_You're a bit rusty_ , Phil, he thinks.

The Hula girl throws him off balance.

It's the only semi-personal item easily in sight. Coulson can find no pictures of family or friends or a boyfriend. He looks at the figurine like it holds the key to Skye somehow. 

Normally Coulson can figure anyone out within twenty minutes of meeting them. It's been an hour. He should probably go back. She must have finished with Ward already. Coulson will have to face her without knowing everything about her. He will have to fly blind for once. 

But it excites him. It _is_ exciting. She intrigues him.

This is new.

 

**[two]**

May sends him to take a quick shower and Simmons thinks it should be good if Skye had her things around when she wakes up. Coulson complies, but after Simmons assures him that Skye won't wake up for a few hours yet, that he can safely leave her side for twenty minutes.

He takes less than twenty minutes. He doesn't want to be on his own and in his own head right now. It's easier inside the med-pod, where the only thing that matters is that Skye is breathing and that knowledge dulls all other noises around while the fear inside Coulson's ribcage about what he might have _done to her_ is sharp at least it doesn't let him form thoughts, it doesn't let him obssess about a plan.

So he finishes his shower fast, barely thinks about whether his suit goes with his tie when he dresses, and he is eager to get back downstairs. God knows what the other are thinking. After the mission in the Guest House he had overheard Triplett inquiring, asking how come everybody called Skye "agent" when he had no record of her being officially in the system. It had bothered him, because he didn't want outside people thinking Skye was here just because Coulson played favorites. Nothing he can do about that right now from here. All he can do is go back to Skye and guard what's left of her sleep.

She'd like some of her stuff, he remembers.

He steps inside her bunk, thinking what to bring. A change of clothes, that's easy. Skye has sweatpants and comfy sweaters for pajamas. Coulson didn't mean to notice but they live together, it's impossible not to. Just like he knows Simmons has pajamas with elephant patterns and Fitz uses a handcrafted cup for his tea, from a pretty famous Glasgow artist. Coulson doesn't mean to notice, but he can't shut those things down. And Skye is a member of his team, she's a fellow agent. She might not have a Level – he's planning on fixing that as soon as she's conscious – but she is just as much of a SHIELD agent as anyone on the Bus. Coulson doesn't even think twice when he has to throw some underwear on the heap. They're all adults here.

So the clothes are taken care of. Coulson looks around for something else to bring her. A book – no, she has all her books in her tablet and Coulson doesn't want her to think about work. And after what he has to tell her about the drug that saved her he doesn't want her worrying so much that she'll try to find things out on her own. He needs some more time, he swears, and he'll tell her everything.

There's not much else. Skye doesn't have that many personal possessions, it's one of the first things he noticed about her. Coulson considers her blanket. Then he sees the Hula girl. He used to think it was an incongrous touch to Skye's existence and he liked the idea of never knowing where it came from. Now seeing it fills him with loneliness. Skye could have died without anyone outside SHIELD to mourn her. Like him. Without much physical trace of her existence but this cheap souvenir right next to her bed. Coulson grabs it and takes it back with him to the pod. Yes, a friendly face for when she wakes up from her wounds. And god he hopes she wakes up normal and okay.

 

**[three]**

"Have you finished with everything? Any piece of useful tech, your personal items. Get it out or you lose it," he tells FitzSimmons, who are walking out of the Bus with a couple of plastic containers in their arms.

Coulson is impatient, itchy, he doesn't like the idea of the operation drawing attention to those around them, the agents he doesn't know. He's made a deal with Gonzales but that doesn't mean he trusts his people completely.

"We've finished, sir, but..." she starts.

"What?"

"Skye's things," she says. He freezes. He hasn't thought about it. Then he remembers most of her stuff was in The Retreat anyway, but then he realizes, looking back at the last couple of days that most of her stuff had _disappeared from The Retreat_ , mysteriously.

He notices Fitz has the little Hula girl doll in his hand. Coulson remembers the one in Cal's old clinic, how much more hopeless at the loss of Skye he had felt when he saw it. He wonders if the universe is trying to tell him something.

"We thought we'd keep this for her, for when she comes back," Fitz says.

Coulson feels guilt drop like a stone in his stomach. He should still be out there, looking for Skye. But the only clue they have is that guy Hydra has in his grip. And they have to get Mike back, that's the priority. God knows what they might be doing to him. And then there's his other mission for Fury. And though he knows Skye would never blame him for prioritizing (she probably wouldn't blame him for bringing Ward in, though she should), a big part of him knows he should still be looking for her.

But he had to get back the Playground. He had to. Coulson doesn't mind having to play along with Gonzales. He'll do whatever it takes. And yes, in part it's because if he gets back their base Skye will always have a home to come back to, in case she needs to find her way back on her own.

"Because she's coming back, right?" Simmons asks shakily.

Coulson touches her shoulder for a moment. "Of course she's coming back"

 

**[four]**

"Can you tell me about your Hula Girl?" he asks.

They are in his office, going over the details of the mission for the millionth time in the past week. They have spent the last couple of hours in silence and Coulson is almost startled by the sound of his own voice. Skye looks amused and he thinks he's talking unnaturally loud.

"Sure, why?" she asks.

"I'm not going to see you in a bit," he says. He's pretty sure that explains his impulse but Skye is looking at him in confusion. "I don't know where that figurine comes from. I'd like to hear the story before you go."

He knows it's a weird request. Intrusive even. But this new mission of hers it's going to have Skye out of the base and with minimal communication for at least a month, possibly longer if she's successful. Which, considering this is Skye, she will be. 

They have been working together pretty close for last few months so cutting contact now like this is going to feel like... Coulson absolutely doesn't want to make a joke about losing his right hand.

"What's the smile for?" Skye asks.

Coulson shakes his head slightly. "Mental joke."

"Do share."

"It's a bit morbid. I'll tell you some other day."

She raises a curious eyebrow.

"I bet you're thinking you'll be glad you don't have to share your office with me anymore," she says.

It's true that since the start of the Caterpillars project he and Skye have been practically sharing working space, without really deciding to or ever commenting on it.

"Not at all. I enjoy it with you here," he tells her, a lot clumsier and desperate than he intended.

But Skye gives him a fond smile. "Coulson, I was teasing. Don't get all sentimental. You know I'm coming back, right? As soon as possible."

"Yeah."

There's no point in worrying her for nothing. Specially before a mission. And also there's not point in putting things in her mind that might distract her from the mission. Coulson has had enough time to say something before this. Over two years of it.

"You really want to know?" Skye asks, going back to their original conversation.

"If it's okay."

He can see her shift in the chair, leaving her work posture behind. She doesn't seem exactly loosened, and that makes Coulson wonder about the story. "There's not much of a story," she says. "Well, there is, but first of all I have her because she's sexy. Who doesn't want to have a sexy lady in their lives?"

Coulson smiles at the joke, wondering if she means something else by that. If it were someone else he'd say she's fishing.

"My last foster family ever," she goes on. Coulson's attention focuses because if there's one thing Skye doesn't talk about speciafically with him it's the pain of those childhood years. "We got along. My parents were organizing a trip together, as a _family_ , right before I got the news that I had to go back to St Agnes."

He leans forward on his chair, lacing his fingers over the files on the desk. "Was the family trip to Hawaii?"

She nods, and her stoic expression slips for a moment. It's clearly something she hasn't thought about in years.

"I'm sorry I asked," Coulson tells her.

"Don't be," she says. "It's not that bad. It sort of made me decide that I'd be okay on my own. A couple of months later I saw the doll in a shop and it just caught my eye. It's been with me ever since. Like a reminder. A good one. I didn't get my ideal family trip. But I survived."

He's still sorry he brought it up but – every time she tells him something like this it only makes him admire her more.

"Does that satisfy your curiosity?" Skye asks.

"Thank you for telling me," he says.

Skye gives him a curious glance.

"You're really gonna miss me, aren't you?"

Coulson lies back on his chair. "I'm really gonna miss you," he admits.

He's not sure Skye catches what's particular about his tone. It's okay if she doesn't.

She leaves early the next morning. So early that she doesn't stop by to say goodbye. That stings a bit. Until Coulson gets to his office and he sees the Hula girl placed on one corner of his desk. There's a note with it, saying that it's _just a loan_ and that she will surely be back _as soon as_ she can to retrieve the precious possession. It reads like a promise.

 

**[five]**

When he opens his eyes there's a tiny face looking down on him.

It's a familiar face but he wonders what it's doing on his bedside table.

"When did you bring this in here?" Coulson asks, grabbing the figurine carefully between his fingers. The Hula Girl shakes like she's greeting him, _good morning, Phil_.

"You're not going to be that guy. Are you?"

Skye sounds like she has been awake for a while and when he turns following that voice – still half-asleep – she is sitting up on his bed. What day is it? Right, she has to be out of the base and on the road early today.

"What guy?"

She shakes her head.

He knows what she means, but she has very little to worry on that sense. Any problem between them is unlikely to come because Coulson finds it hard to committ. Even though this is probably the most serious relationship of his life in a lot of senses. Not only have they repeatedly risked their life for one another they have been living under the same roof for years, virtually, before becoming a couple.

"I'm going to leave her here a couple of days while I'm gone," Skye explains. "Are you okay with that?"

"Yeah."

"I've noticed you prefer spending the night in my bunk," she adds.

"Is it obvious?"

Even if it weren't, Skye doesn't miss much. That's her job, of course. Her quarters are nicer. They're _hers_.

"I would say you can sleep in my room while I'm not here but I know you and your weird Director-ish pride. You'd think you're overstepping or something."

Coulson frowns at her words. The worst part about being Skye's lover is that there is little room to hide under that intelligent, scrutinizing glance of hers. And no, he wouldn't accept her offer. The team more or less knows what's going on (and make it a point of _not asking_ ) but it would make him feel like he was imposing on her. After all, they have only been together for a couple of months, and not officially, and he only told her he loved a week ago.

"I miss you when I'm out there on the road," she says, touching his hand a moment as she sits on her knees.

"I miss you too."

"Obviously. But – I don't like thinking about you alone in your sad room brooding."

"I don't brood. I actually have a lot of work to do. You know I do stuff when you're not here, right?"

"You should come with me more often," Skye tells him. "You're good at it."

"I will, I promise," he says. "Just –"

"In the future, I know."

He smiles apologetically, wrapping his fingers around her elbow and kissing her arm. Skye glances down at him sternly for a moment, then gives up and buries her hand in his hair, stroking the top of his head.

"She's going to look after you when I'm not here," she tells him, nodding towards the Hula girl.

"Just a loan again?"

Skye scratches the side of his face, feeling for his morning stubble. "Not quite," she says. "This time we can have joint custody."

She kisses him and laughs a bit against his lips when Coulson freezes at her words. He is not scared of committing to a relationship, he swears. He's not that guy. He is a bit scared of everything having to do with Skye.

She pulls away, throwing the sheets over him and sitting at the foot of his bed. Their bed. His bed. Some day he'll figure it out.

He looks at the bruise on her shoulder. It's fading but it's still visible. That injury was somehow responsible for what Coulson calls the "Skye, I love you" incident, but he will be only too happy to see it fade completely. It doesn't have to do with his reluctance to go on the next mission with her, he doesn't think. Skye stretches her arms and shoulders for a couple of minutes, relaxing her muscles like she's been trained to do. He knows the ritual, he enjoys watching it. Her short hair falls messily over her nape and she's pulled the sheets away so Coulson has a very nice view of her ass as she sits on the edge of the bed. 

Coulson realizes he won't have the privilege of seeing this for a couple of days and moves to her quickly, in need, kissing her neck and pressing his body against the curve of her back.

"Director Phillip J Coulson reporting for duty," she laughs, as she reaches her hand behind her and gives his cock a lazy stroke and then pulls away. 

"It's not you, it's your Hula Girl," he says.

He lies down on the bed again, since he's not the one with the tight schedule, and enjoys the view as Skye strolls around his quarters taking out the clothes for the day. Would it be so bad, if one of them stayed definitely? It would probably compromise Skye, her missions, that's why he's reluctant. An official change in their status would leave her exposed, inside and outside SHIELD.

Coulson throws his head back and stares at the Hula girl from upside down. She's a bit worse for the wear than the first time Coulson saw her in Skye's van. Then again he thinks, absently scratching the spot on his arm where the metal of his prothesis meets scarred tissue, so is Coulson. She's survived a lot, this little lady. And so have he and Skye. Maybe he should trust that and stop overthinking it. Plus he thinks Hula Girl is looking at him a bit in judgement, like she's disappointed he's not behaving in a manner worthy of her owner.

When he looks up again Skye is there, pressing her naked body against his again, and pressing a kiss to his distracted mouth.

"Stop looking at other girls and join me in the shower," she tells him, kissing him on the bridge of the nose.

He watches her walk, barefoot and naked, into his bathroom. He sits up, giving the Hula doll one last look. He thinks about Skye sneaking her in and leaving it on his table while he slept. So it can look after him and so he wouldn't feel so alone.

He's known this young woman for almost two years and he can't still figure her out, she keeps coming up with something new.

It's exciting.


End file.
